The present invention relates to computer banking systems and, more particularly, for computer banking systems in which a banking customer requests and obtains services over a network.
Personal computers are now commonplace in the home and in the work place. With the advent of communication service providers, such as Prodigy(copyright), CompuServe(copyright), the Internet and America Online(copyright), it is now possible for users of personal computers to connect and interact with a variety of geographically remotely located service providers. In other instances, service providers supply local access numbers. One area in which such systems are employed is the area of financial services.
For example, one such banking system utilizes software designed to run in a Windows(copyright) operating environment on a personal computer. That software utilizes the computer""s modem to dial up an access number maintained by the bank which provides access to the bank""s host computer system. Once such a link is established, the bank customer can perform such routine banking functions as paying bills, transferring funds between accounts and reviewing account histories. In addition, such systems enable the banking customer to use the personal computer to send electronic mail (xe2x80x9ce-mailxe2x80x9d) messages to customer service representatives to accomplish such functions as stopping payment on checks, reordering checks and the like.
A disadvantage with such systems is that the full range of banking services is not communicated to the banking customer using the personal computer, since the functions which require the sending of electronic mail are not readily displayed. Rather, the banking customer must compose an appropriate electronic mail message for those services not specifically displayed as options on the screen face of the personal computer. Furthermore, another disadvantage of such systems is that they rely upon electronic mail communication which is outside of the host computer system of the bank.
Accordingly, there is a need for a personal computer banking system in which the entire range of banking services provided to a customer are communicated to a banking customer and made available for fulfillment by the sending of requests. There is also a need to provide an integrated personal computer banking system which does not require electronic mail to convey requests to a customer service representative.
The present invention is a personal computer banking system and method in which a banking customer utilizes a personal computer at a location remote from the bank host computer system, and provides the customer with the entire range of banking services displayed as options on a menu. In a preferred embodiment, the banking system utilizes a personal computer which communicates with the bank host computer system by way of a network service provider, such as CompuServe(copyright) or the Internet. Also in the preferred embodiment, the banking system of the present invention is itself capable of discriminating between those customer service requests which require the action of a customer service representative, and those customer service requests which are capable of automatic fulfillment; at no time is it necessary for the banking customer to compose and send an electronic mail message to be directed to a customer service representative.
In the preferred embodiment, the banking customer""s personal computer is loaded with software capable of running in the Windows(copyright) environment, and using a modem to dial up the local access number of a network service provider. The software in the user""s personal computer encrypts and sends identification information relating to the user through the network service provider to the home banking system. When received by the home banking system, it is authenticated and routed to a home banking server, which is a stand alone computer. There, the request is decrypted and routed to the mainframe computer of the bank where it is processed. The processing includes the determination of the type of service request received, and the routing of that request to the appropriate service request module in the host computer.
There are basic banking request modules for such routine functions as account information, retirement account information, credit card balances and funds transfers between accounts. In addition, certain banking requests are identified as service requests, which fall out of such routine banking functions, and are routed to a service request formafter which determines whether automated fulfillment of the request is possible. If so, the request is routed further to the appropriate automated fulfillment module; if not, the request is routed to a customer service representative, or to a back office fulfillment operation.
With respect to all of the service requests routed in this fashion, confirmation of receipt and processing of the requests is encrypted and sent back over the network to the remote personal computer.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, such service requests as obtaining a photocopy of a check, stopping payment on a check, changing the customer""s address and/or telephone number, and obtaining a copy of a statement are capable of automatic fulfillment. However, the banking customer has the option of directing other service requests to a customer service representative, who can contact the customer by telephone, mail or e-mail to answer such questions.
The method of the invention includes the steps of inputting a customer banking request from among a menu of banking requests at a personal computer, transmitting the request to a host computer remote from the personal computer over a network, receiving the request at the host computer, identifying the type of customer banking request received, comparing the type of request to a stored table of request types, each of the request types having an attribute indicating whether the request type is capable of being fulfilled by a customer service representative, back office fulfillment operation, or by an automated system, and depending upon the attribute, directing the request either to a queue for handling by a customer service representative or back office fulfillment operation, or to a queue for processing by an automated system.
The method also includes such steps as logging the request and the requested transaction so that the host computer system is updated at all times, and such logged requests can be accessed to monitor account activity, or accessed by customer service representatives. Another feature of the preferred embodiment is to provide a step of automatically transmitting current customer account information from the host computer over the network to the personal computer, so that account files at the personal computer are updated, immediately after a communication link is established.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a personal computer banking system in which the entire range of services offered by a bank are made available to a bank customer as options on a menu screen at a personal computer linked with the bank host computer; a personal computer banking system which utilizes a third party network service provider so that it is not necessary to maintain a large and diverse number of access numbers; a personal computer banking system and method which does not employ the use of electronic mail to convey service requests to customer service representatives; a personal computer banking system which is capable of directing customer service requests for automated fulfillment and for fulfillment by a customer service representative or back office fulfillment operation; and a personal computer banking system which is user-friendly and therefore encourages frequent use bank customers.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.